By Kristy Siegfried @klsiegfried | 18 May, 2018
Please note that we won't be publishing on Monday due to a bank holiday in Switzerland. We'll be back on Tuesday. | | Thousands flee Central African violence into northern DRC. Some 7,000 refugees from Central African Republic have arrived in the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo in less than a week , according to UNHCR. The refugees, most of them women and children, are reportedly fleeing violence between two anti-Balaka groups in the area of Kouango, just across the border in south-eastern CAR. The new arrivals are concentrated in a remote village in Bas-Uele Province where there is only one water source and a limited humanitarian presence. UNHCR is appealing for urgent support for the communities hosting the refugees as well as the refugees themselves. The new arrivals are the latest in a series of refugee movements into northern DRC, and many villages in the area are now housing more refugees than locals. Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières has warned of a new cycle of inter-communal violence taking hold in Bambari, a city in central CAR. MSF described the streets of Bambari as “a battlefield of armed men” this week. Hundreds of residents initially sought refuge in the hospital before fleeing the city. | | |
| Humanitarian crisis in South Sudan intensifies. As fresh fighting displaces thousands of people in South Sudan, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs Mark Lowcock described the suffering of ordinary people as “on an unimaginable scale” at the end of a two-day visit there this week. The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) announced on Thursday that it had deployed 150 additional peacekeepers to Unity region in an effort to protect civilians being “deliberately targeted” by warring parties. UNMISS noted that at least 30 villages had been attacked and thousands of civilians were fleeing as armed forces made their way from Koch towards Leer. The number of internally displaced people seeking refuge in a site next to the UN base at Leer has increased from about 500 to 2,000, creating an urgent need for aid agencies to deliver more food, water and medical services. Hopes are now pinned on a fresh round of peace talks that got underway in Addis Ababa on Thursday. Refugees from countries of asylum are participating by giving their views. | | |
| Global plan in the works to supply clean energy to all displaced people. Aid agencies, major refugee-hosting countries and businesses are preparing in July to sign up to a global action plan to provide all displaced people with access to sustainable energy by 2030. Reuters reports on efforts already underway to move towards more sustainable energy sources for refugee camps, such as the solar plant now powering Jordan’s Za’atari camp. UK-based charity Practical Action is now working with UNHCR and other partners in Rwanda to install solar micro-grids to power schools, clinics and street lighting and appliances in three camps hosting Congolese refugees. | | |
| Rights group critical of Australia’s cut to health care for Manus refugees. A report by Amnesty International says the Australian government’s decision to terminate counselling services for some 700 refugees and asylum-seekers who remain on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea has put their health at risk . Counselling serves that were available at the off-shore processing centre on Manus have not been replaced since the refugees were moved to three accommodation centres in Lorengau in November last year. Health-care access has also been reduced, with only one small clinic operating at one of the centres. UNHCR has also warned that medical care for refugees on Manus is inadequate. | | |
| Sicily’s missing-migrant detectives. More than 8,000 refugees and migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2016 and 2017, and 800 deaths have been recorded so far this year. In many cases their bodies are never found, and those that are recovered are rarely identified, leaving thousands of families in the dark as to fate of their loved ones. Refugees Deeply met some of the people in Sicily who are working to identify victims of shipwrecks and inform their families. | | |
| Wondering what to cook this weekend? UNHCR has teamed up with Migrateful, an initiative helping refugee and migrant chefs teach their traditional cuisine to the British public, to share some delicious recipes made by refugees in the UK as they celebrate Ramadan. Choose from smoked aubergines with fried eggs or meatballs with spiced rice and lentils. | | |
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